Bike fitting - is it worth it?

HavanaBlaugrana

I have a 'dodgy' knee as I had an operation about 2 years ago. After riding for about 2 hours, I start to get pain again, I have changed pedals, adjusted the cleat position, saddle position etc but it keeps coming back. The physio suggested going for a bike fitting, I am by no means a competitive cyclist and have no aspirations to ride the Etape. That said, I would like to enjoy a 50/60 mile ride without feeling a lot of pain in my knee.

Any views - I have a feeling that it might be expensive....

Cheers

smidsy

This comes up often and the answer usually goes something like this....

The price of a bike fit can seem expensive on the face of it but when you consider how much time you spend on the bike and how much money you spend on stuff to make you go quicker it actually is very good VFM. In addition what price are your knees worth? Avoiding injuries has to be the best upgrade there is.

There are different levels of fit/service available but anywhere from £100 to £250 is not uncommon depending.

You do not have to be a serious cyclist to benefit as being comfortable and avoiding pain has to make sense whatever your standard/ability etc.

chrishumes

a friend who took up cycling 4 years ago, started complaining about a bad back.....and turned into a slipped disk....

i went for a bike fitting, and the guy doing it told me about all of the issues you can have and how to adjust the bike to suit......sounded as though because my friend didnt have a fitting the cycling could have caused the slipped disk....

my friend had a emergency op last week to grind a bit off the spine and has nerve damage and lost muscle fibres or summit and feeling in foot etc

make your own conclusions, but is it not worth it in the long run??

warrerj

The quick reply is - YES - If you have an injury then 1000% worth it!

No sure where you're based but I'd recommend going for a fitter with a medical / physio backround. If you're anywhere near Cardiff I can't recommend http://www.promotiondynamics.co.uk/ highly enough.

P_Tucker

Its a load of pseudo-scientific bolleaux with no foundation in actual science. It exists simply to separate the gullible from their money.

thefd

Sorry to jump on the back of someone else's post - any know of a good fitter in the Edinburgh area?

benkxk

Short answer - if you can afford it

xtc_special

TheFD wrote:

Sorry to jump on the back of someone else's post - any know of a good fitter in the Edinburgh area?

The Tri Centre 57-59 South Clerk Street.

Garryboy

Out of interest, what pedals do you currently have?

Perhaps something with a bit more float would help, like speedplays?

Dogma Dave

Course it's not worth it. Simply look on Evans website and refer to their comprehensive bike sizing chart. In my experience, the one they have in stock is almost always the right size.

Amoger

I'm with "If you can afford it".

Spent £130 on a bike fit; very thorough (several hours; was at a Trek shop) but almost no changes - basically I'd managed to get it set up almost spot on on my own. Possibly worth spending the money just to know that I had it right.

I get occasional knee trouble (one leg shorter than the other, or rather, some pelvis tilting going on) which led me to having a bike fit, but tbh I still get occasional knee trouble & seems it's more about me than the bike set-up.

So - worth it for peace of mind, it was "worth it" insofar as it was a good few hours of someone's time to thoroughly go over the bike settings.

thegreatdivide

XTC SPECIAL wrote:

TheFD wrote:

Sorry to jump on the back of someone else's post - any know of a good fitter in the Edinburgh area?

The Tri Centre 57-59 South Clerk Street.

They offer a half hour session with a bunch of measurements shoved into a PC and a couple of print outs for £60. For a full professional 3 hour fitting Spokes in Kirckaldy is the place to go. It's £120 but worth it.

To the OP - what cleats do you use? Look do a pedal fit service for around £30. Getting the cleats spot on sorted my knee pain out.

Andy Watson

I have a knee injury from my days playing rugby. I have a good relationship with my LBS and when i told them what I was doing this year they invited me in for a free fitting. It made a huge difference as my saddle was a lot lower than it should have been, but as a novice I had no idea. Now I know what it should be like, I dont think for my next bike which I hope to get at the end of the year, that I would get another fit. But like others have said, if you can afford one then do it.

zoso7

thegreatdivide wrote:

XTC SPECIAL wrote:

TheFD wrote:

Sorry to jump on the back of someone else's post - any know of a good fitter in the Edinburgh area?

The Tri Centre 57-59 South Clerk Street.

They offer a half hour session with a bunch of measurements shoved into a PC and a couple of print outs for £60. For a full professional 3 hour fitting Spokes in Kirckaldy is the place to go. It's £120 but worth it.

To the OP - what cleats do you use? Look do a pedal fit service for around £30. Getting the cleats spot on sorted my knee pain out.

I am considering getting a bike fit and im based in Cumbernauld, do you have personal experience of Spokes then?! what was the level of service like and is it a comprehensive fit?!

I was considering going down to see Adrian Timmins at Cadence but that was gonna work out real expensive due to travel and accomodation costs.

I would consider Spokes since its only an hour away as long as the fit is good quality. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

celbianchi

Some people must be getting some awfully bad advice at point of purchase from their retailer. Having ridden a road bike for 25 years or so now it surprises me that people can have such a bad set up that it is causing them to have parts of their spine ground away in corrective surgery.

Sevenfold

Adrian @ Cadence Sport is worth every penny. I had my fit March last year & found it a revelation. Made every ride significantly more comfortable & faster! I also had a problem with my achilles a few weeks ago that had me seriously concerned - 80 mile audax after not having ridden for 10 days left me unable to put any weight on my right foot. Adrian sorted that out for me ready for a 4 day ride to Luxembourg in 2 weeks time.

zoso7

Im sure he is worth every penny but with a 5 hour drive each way (£140 fuel), possibly stay somewhere over nite (£60), the cost of the fit £150, im looking at at least £350 and thats before i even account for the possibilities of puchasing a new stem/ bars etc and if i was going all that distance i would take my second bike and get that done too, another £35. Getting very costly, and way beyond my means at the moment.

Thats why Spokes being only 1hour drive away would be a great substitute if it is similar in quality to Adrian's fit.

tp2000

Garryboy wrote:

Out of interest, what pedals do you currently have?

Perhaps something with a bit more float would help, like speedplays?

I would execise mild caution against this.....I realise that for a lot of people this is a good thing, however my own personal experience suggests otherwise. I tried Look red cleats a few months ago and it led to some excruciating knee pain on longer rides. Switched back to the grey cleats and the pain vanished. So more float isn't always good....it depends what the knee injury is.

With regards the original question then yes, a fit is worth it. I had one done and the difference it made in being able to ride powerfully but in comfort was incredible. the stability of the foot over pedals and alignment of the knees (through arch supports and cleat shims) was the single biggest change and took no time to get used to.

As a rider with a dodgy knee (buggered my acl and both cartilages) then I can only recommend getting a decent fitting done (for what it is worth I had a specialized bg fit at Sigma Sport in Kingston).

Swos

Does anyone know anywhere in Norwich who offer a bike fitting service

rodgerthat

I imagine bike fitting is as easy a way to part an idiot from their cash as painting some white arrows on tarmac, calling it a sportive and charging them £40 for the pleasure of following them on public roads is. I don't know how cycling survived for so long without either of them tbh.

davala95

yes

Wirral_paul

rodgerthat wrote:

I imagine bike fitting is as easy a way to part an idiot from their cash as painting some white arrows on tarmac, calling it a sportive and charging them £40 for the pleasure of following them on public roads is. I don't know how cycling survived for so long without either of them tbh.

Are you serious?? Would you buy a bike and then just ride it as it came from the shop then? I guess you mustnt ride very far then as getting the right position is critical to comfort on a long ride or dont you agree?? You think many beginners could adjust their own bike to hopefully get comfortable and prevent potential injuries??

When you do some 8hr+ rides on an ill fitting bike then come back and tell everyone how proper fitting doesnt matter!!

BruceG

Wirral_Paul wrote:

rodgerthat wrote:

I imagine bike fitting is as easy a way to part an idiot from their cash as painting some white arrows on tarmac, calling it a sportive and charging them £40 for the pleasure of following them on public roads is. I don't know how cycling survived for so long without either of them tbh.

Are you serious?? Would you buy a bike and then just ride it as it came from the shop then? I guess you mustnt ride very far then as getting the right position is critical to comfort on a long ride or dont you agree?? You think many beginners could adjust their own bike to hopefully get comfortable and prevent potential injuries??

When you do some 8hr+ rides on an ill fitting bike then come back and tell everyone how proper fitting doesnt matter!!

I think his point is that you are allowed to do it yourself rather than pay someone else for it, which when you thnk about it isnt a bad idea. Or did you indeed ride your bike as it came from the supplier and only had any adjustments done when you paid for a bike fit?

Wirral_paul

BruceG wrote:

I think his point is that you are allowed to do it yourself rather than pay someone else for it, which when you thnk about it isnt a bad idea.

If you know what you're doing then you might get close. Then again you could completely screw it all up and end up injured needlessly. I'd suggest most beginners wouldnt know what they're doing so if they want to get a bike properly set up then best left to a pro.

BruceG wrote:

Or did you indeed ride your bike as it came from the supplier and only had any adjustments done when you paid for a bike fit?

No - i had mine set up by the bike shop over about an hour and a half to at least try and get it right....... and then had it set up by a professional when I got a knee injury due to a mal-alignment of my knees requiring a varus wedge fitting to each shoe. This was all sorted at a professional bike fitting (Pedal Precission), including moving every possible adjustment and contact point possible from how it was set by the bike shop.

http://www.njdsportsinjuries.co.uk/musculoskeletal-screening_39_1137245469.pdf

Safe to say I learned from not getting the bike set up properly first time - in the painful way! :?

BruceG

Wirral_Paul wrote:

BruceG wrote:

I think his point is that you are allowed to do it yourself rather than pay someone else for it, which when you thnk about it isnt a bad idea. [/url]

If you know what you're doing then you might get close. Then again you could completely screw it all up and end up injured needlessly

BruceG wrote:

Or did you indeed ride your bike as it came from the supplier and only had any adjustments done when you paid for a bike fit?

No - i had mine set up by the bike shop over about an hour and a half to at least try and get it right....... and then had it set up by a professional when I got a knee injury due to a mal-alignment of my knees requiring a varus wedge fitting to each shoe. This was all sorted at a professional bike fitting (Pedal Precission), including moving every possible adjustment and contact point possible from how it was set by the bike shop.

Safe to say I learned from not getting the bike set up properly first time - in the painful way! :?

An hour and a half to set up the bike, guess you bought the wrong size in the first place then!
Whilst a bloody good idea for the pro's where every little advantage can mean the difference between success or failure, they can be a bit like the Emperor's new clothes, and as the other guy said how on earth did we get on before the advent of these fittiing specialist's relieving us of our hard earned. Just another perspective to consider

dodgy

Never bothered with a bike fit, so I'm not speaking from a position of authority. In my many years of riding I just carry an allen key in jersey pocket for the first few rides on a new bike, making micro adjustments here and there. I always think at the back of my mind am I missing out on the wonder drug of the pro bike fit, but I never get aches and pains and I do some pretty big rides.

The lads that I have seen get it done were clearly badly set up prior to the fit, you know, saddle WAAAY too low etc, they come back from the fit convinced that only the bike fit at a cost could have sorted them out. Perhaps they're right, just wish they'd put their saddle up a bit on my advice first :P PS - not referrering to wirral_paul

If I was going to get this done, I'd go to Adrian Timmis, he seems to go the distance and you get tangibles like foot beds etc.

Wirral_paul

dodgy wrote:

Perhaps they're right, just wish they'd put their saddle up a bit on my advice first :P PS - not referrering to wirral_paul

If I was going to get this done, I'd go to Adrian Timmis, he seems to go the distance and you get tangibles like foot beds etc.

Ay up Dodgy D

Mine was 3mm too high so coming down and back was right for me with my saddle. The difference was noticeable immediately after fitting a 1cm shorter stem as knee and shoulder pain went away.

DonutDad

I had my first ever bike fitting done yesterday, and wow, what a difference!
I've had a road bike just since the end of February, and in that time I've had my seat up a bit, down a bit, back/forward (and changed it twice), fiddled with my cleats, twisted my bars up and so on, but couldn't get rid of sore knee, strained calf, sore shoulders arms, back, hands, stiff neck. I just thought that was what 50 miles on a road bike felt like.

A friend finally persuaded me to have a fitting, and where my instinct had been to make the bike shorter and more upright in search of comfort, he (Chris the fitter) moved me up, back, flipped my stem, straightened my bars and moved my cleats to improve my pedalling input/balance and take the strain off my arms etc. it's weird feeling more stretched out, but it works. Totally counter-intuitive (shows what I know). Took a very thorough 2 hours over it too, with lots of questions and informative chat along the way.

Up until now, I've not quite managed to do a magic (for me) 15mph average. I've come close, but not quite there.
This morning, out on a familiar ride, I totally busted it and did 16.5mph. As well as that I've experienced no pain or discomfort. anywhere - apart from from knowing I've done 50 miles that is.

Maybe there was a bit of a psychological boost in the speed (hey, whatever works, right?), but I felt my legs were engaging a lot better when I pushed it on climbs, rather than my upper body being over-employed and wasting that effort elsewhere, much smoother, stronger. And I could feel different bits of my legs being used for different things.
I finished my ride feeling a lot less beat up than I'm used to, so money (50 quid) very well spent if you ask me.

I'd recommend the process to anyone, especially beginners - I'm now even more in love with my fantastic 'made-to-measure' bike.

Velonutter

Sevenfold wrote:

Adrian @ Cadence Sport is worth every penny. I had my fit March last year & found it a revelation. Made every ride significantly more comfortable & faster! I also had a problem with my achilles a few weeks ago that had me seriously concerned - 80 mile audax after not having ridden for 10 days left me unable to put any weight on my right foot. Adrian sorted that out for me ready for a 4 day ride to Luxembourg in 2 weeks time.

Yep, have a look at my post about Adrian here: -

viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=12859250&p=17677840#p17677840

jonomc4

if you are going to cycle more than 30 miles in one go - then yes do it.

I thought I knew a lot about bike fitting - but my last bike I could not get right - by the end of my bike fit (which some counter intuitive thing to me where done) I ended up with a much more comfortable bike and greatly help me increase my distance and speed.

For example - my frame is on the large size for me - not too large but I am near the limit - I had changed my stem to a +17 degree and had it at the top of the steerer to be comfortable. The fitter changed it to the original (any way higher quality) flat stem and dropped it down a few spacers. Although lower it suited my centre of gravity better and the bike was more comfortable (and a more aerodynamic riding position). So yep go for it!

cougie

I've been riding 30 years now, and race distances over 100 miles.

I've had 3 custom built frames - TBH I wasn't that impressed with how they did it - it was really a case of sit on your old frame and we'll look at putting a few mm in there and out there. Didn't seem very technical to me. And one of them has built for the top riders too. I bet they got a better service than I did.

Other than that I've had a fair few off the peg bikes - no fitting there. I've changed the stem a bit, but I really don't think there's a massive need for it.

Did a 95 miler on a brand new bike on Sunday - no fitting again, and I was fine apart from a bit of ache across the shoulders. It did come with a half price Retul fit offer though - so I may take that up when I have some time.

As for it being essential ? No. Certainly not for me. But maybe my body isnt as fussy as others are ?